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Egypt criminal court tries 25 ex-officials

The trial of at least 25 top officials who served under former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak has started at a court complex in the Egyptian capital Cairo

The defendants included high-ranking members of the former government, most notably former secretary of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP), ex-chairman of the Upper House and the former parliament speaker.

They are all accused of corruption and killing anti-regime protesters during the revolution that toppled Mubarak early in 2011.

The defendants allegedly organized gangs of camel riders, who attacked protesters camped out in Cairo’s Liberation Square in early February. The case and trial is known in the local media as the ” Battle of the Camel.”

All defendants have denied the charges.

Meanwhile, the chief of Egypt’s ruling military council refused to testify in the trial. Field Marshal Mohammad Tantawi had been summoned by the court to give evidence behind closed doors.

Mubarak’s trial, which began on August 3, follows months of protests demanding justice for the victims killed during the January and February revolution that ended his regime.

The Mubarak family is also facing allegations of corruption as well as the use of violence against protesters.

The commission investigating the violence against the protesters says more than 800 demonstrators were killed.

Egypt’s judicial officials say the former dictator and several of his close associates could be executed if found guilty of ordering to shoot anti-government protesters.

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